Curwensville hands Elk Catholic 28-6 setback

Photo by Becky Polaski
Elk Catholic’s Rick Pearsall, 3, picked up some key yardage on this play as he gets blocks from Hank Cappiello, 33, Brock McCullough, 22, and two other Crusaders during action in the third quarter of Friday’s game at Curwensville.

By

Wayne A. Bauer

The Curwensville Golden Tide football celebrated “Senior Night” by handing the Elk County Catholic Crusaders a sound 28-6 beating on Friday night in an AML game by at the Curwensville High School field.
Things started out badly for the ECCHS squad as they fumbled the opening kickoff, which led to the first score of the night for the Golden Tide. After that, it didn’t get much better as the Curwensville squad controlled the ball game for the most part.
“They (Curwensville) showed up ready to play tonight and they outplayed us on both sides of the ball,” said Travis Skrzypek, ECCHS head coach. “Our defense was not up to par tonight and our offensive line wasn’t at its best either. Our running backs had trouble getting started, as the defensive line of Curwensville played very agressive tonight.”
“We will have to regroup and get ready for our game next Friday with Ridgway and then prepare for the upcoming playoffs,” added Skrzypek. “I wasn’t pleased with our play tonight as we just weren’t able to get anything going.”
Curwensville’s Alex Holland was the leading rusher in the ball game, finishing the night with 199 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carried. He was followed by teammate Zach Dimmich with 66 yards and a touchdown in 13 carries. The other rushers for the Tide were Alec Starr with one touchdown, Hunter McCracken with five yards and Shae Best with three yards.
Starr was one for five in the passing department for 11 yards, with Holland having the reception.
Elk County Catholic was led in the rushing department by Ricky Pearsall with 86 yards in 24 carries and one touchdown. Brock McCullough had one yard, while quarterback Kyle Schneider was sacked twice for a -24 yards.
Kyle Schneider was five for 10 in the passing department for 76 yards. David Bojalad caught two passes for 24 yards, Tyler Herzing two for 19 yards, and Sam Schneider one for 33 yards.
Defensively the Crusaders were led by Zac Brody, David Bojalad, Jake Cortina, Joe McLaughlin, Ricky Pearsall, Sam Schneider and Brock McCullough.
Elk Catholic won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The kick was a short one taken by an upback who fumbled the ball after a very hard hit, with Curwensville recovering on the ECCHS 41-yard line.
The Tide, behind the power running of Holland, drove the ball the 41 yards in just eight plays to hit paydirt on a three-yard run by Holland to take a 7-0 lead with 7:50 left in the opening period. Taylor Bumbarger booted the PAT for the Tide.
Elk took the Curwensville kick following the TD, but was unable to move the ball and went three and out. Curwensville took over on their own 22 following the Bojalad punt. The Tide, once again behind the running of Holland, began moving the ball down the field. They moved the ball to the ECCHS six-yard line as time ran out in the opening period.
On the first place of the second period Holland carried the ball in from the six to make the score 13-0 as the PAT was blocked by ECCHS.
Elk Catholic put together a drive following the second Curwensville score as they went from their own 37-yard line to the Tide’s one before it stalled. Schneider took the kickoff on his own 30 and carried it to the 37. A Kyle Schneider to Sam Schneider pass for 33 yards moved the ball to the Curwensville 30-yard line. Pearsall picked up eight, McCullough one and Pearsall one for a first down on the 20. Following an incomplete pass and a loss of a yard, Schneider connected with Tyler Herzing with a 12-yard pass for another first down on the nine. A seven-yard loss on the next play moved it back to the16, then Pearsall picked up 15 yards over the next two plays to put it on one with fourth and goal. Pearsall’s fourth-down plunge fell just short of the goal line as Curwensville took over on downs inside the ECCHS one.
Neither team mounted any more scoring threats in the first half as it ended with the Tide on top 13-0.
Curwensville took the second half kickoff and marched downfield for their third score of the night. This time Holland and Dimmich did most of the damage as they moved the ball to the ECCHS two-yard line, where Starr carried it in on a quarterback keeper to make it 21-0 as Holland ran in the two-point conversion.
Elk Catholic took over on the 23-yard line on the ensuing kickoff. Pearsall picked up four yards to the 27, then Schneider connected with Bojalad for 12 yards and a first down on the 39. On his next two carries Pearsall picked up 12 yards for another first down on the Tide’s 49-yard line. Pearsall then gained 20 yards to the 29 and a Curwensville penalty moved the ball to the 15. Pearsall picked up two to the 13, then a Schneider-to-Bojalad pass was good for 12 yards and a first down on the one-yard line. A yard’s loss on the next play set up a two-yard touchdown plunge by Pearsall to make it 21-6 as the PAT failed.
Curwensville wasted no time in getting back on the scoreboard as they took the ECCHS kickoff and marched down the field to score their final touchdown of the game with 17 seconds left in the third period. Dimmich scored this touchdown on a one-yard run to make the score 28-6 as Bumbarger split the uprights for the PAT.
The defenses took over in the final period, as neither team was able to put any more points on the board. The Tide held on for a 28-6 victory over the Crusaders.
Game notes
Elk County Catholic is now 6-2 on the season, while the Golden Tide of Curwensville moved to 7-1 on the season.
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Elk Catholic will return to action on Friday night when they travel to the county seat to take on the Ridgway Elkers. Game time is set for 7 p.m.